Jar-sealing apparatus.



No. 739,887. PATENTBD'SBPT. 29, 1903. A. JAR SBA-Llh'f ABEALRATUS. ArPLmAmM: r-Ifnm. rm., a, 1902.

ius nanms Farias cu...PnoTo-L|mo. wnsumcmu, mc,

UNITED STATES Patented September 29, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. LORENZ, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, AND BEECH-NUT PACKING COMPANY, OF CANAJOHARIE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK, AND WILLIAM H. HONISS, HARTFORD,

CONNECTICUT.

JAR-SEALING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.'739,887, dated September 29, 1903.

Application filed February 3, 1902. Serial No. 92,328. (No model.)v

To @ZZ whom, it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. LORENZ, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Hartford, Ain the county ot Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements i'n Jar- Sealing Apparatus, ot' which the following is a specification.'

.This invention is an improved apparatus lo for exhausting and hermetically sealingjars,

cans, and similar receptacles.

In the drawings, in which similar characters denote similar parts, Figure l is a side view of this apparatus in section, taken i5 along the line l 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a front View in section, taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side view of the apparatus of Figs. l and 2,V showing one of the independent pressers in the frame upon 2c a jar-cap. Fig. 4 is asideview similar to Fig. 3, but showing the jar-presserin the position in which the capis sealed upon the jar.

Hermetically-sealed jars and similar receptacles are ordinarily closed bymeans of a cap, the closure 'being made air-tight by the use of an annular gasket ofrubber or similar material.

The object of this invention is to provide 3o van apparatus having pressingdevices which are adapted to be quickly moved into and out of operative relation to the jars and which will be operated 'upon by the readmitted air-pressure to force the'caps squarely down upon their gaskets with uniform pressure without allowing the air to return to the closure-joint.

The preferred embodiment of my invention shown and described herein is employed in 4o connection with an ordinary air-exhaustingreceiver R, which constitutes a j str-chamber having an outlet-pipe O for connecting with any suitable air-exhausting pump. The presserchamber 10 is supported in any suitable way wit-hin the receiver R. The side of this charnber l0 adjacent to the receiver is provided with a movable wall or frame 11, carrying the jar-pressers 13, which are in the form of vertically-movablepistons. Forconvenience of construction and assembling the pistons 5o are supported in the bushings 12, which are screwed into openings in the frame 1l substantially coincident with the positions of the jars. The pressers 13 substantially close the openings in the frame 11 and are pro- 55 vided with anges 14 at .their upper ends, which restupon the upper ends of the bushings when the frame ll is in its upper position, the pressers being free enough to move readily in the bushings. 6o

In order to increase the 4security of the joint between the presser-chamber and the jar-chamber, I preferably employa flexible packing-sheet l5, which covers all the pressers and vtits at its edges all around the chamber l0. The use of this packing-sheet permits the joints of the pressers and the edges of the framerto be fitted quite loosely, so as t0` work with perfect freedom.

The presser-chamber l0 is connected with 7o the outlet-pipe O by means of the branch pipe S, a shut-o valve V being interposed in one of these two pipes between their junction with each other and withthe apparatus. The chamber lOi's also provided with an in- 75 let-valve I, which is closed during the exhausting operation.

The wall or frame 1l is fitted to -slide vertically in the side walls of the presser-chamberA andis provided with a device by means 8o of which the frame may belowered and elevated. This consists of the camsl l'and 17, upon which the' frame 11 rests, the( cams 16 being pivotally mounted upon studs 1,8 and provided with handles 19, while the cams 17 85 are mounted upon the cross-shaft 2l, provided with the levers 20, the latter being connected with the handles 19 by means of rods 22. The pressers 10 may be of any desired weight, according to whether the caps are to be held 9u down or left loosely in position during the exhausting operation.

The jars J to be sealed are placed within the receiver R beneath their respective pressers. They may be placed directly upon the iloor 0f the receiver; but a more convenient way of transferring these jars to and from the receiver is to place them upon receptacles or trays 23, which may be of any depth desired and are adapted to support the jars at the proper height and in substantial coincidence with their respective pressers Without any special care on the part of the attendant.

In the operation of this machine the lled jars having their caps placed in position upon their respective gaskets are placed in the receiver in the position shown in Figs. l and 2,

the cams 16 and 17, beingin the positionv shown in Figs. 1 and 2, holding the frame 11 in its upper position. The handle 19 is then moved to the position shown in Fig. 3 to let the jar-pressers 13 down upon the jars J, the frame 1l being lowered still farther, so as to leave an open space 24 below the flange 14 of the pressers. The receiver is then hermetically sealed and the exhausting operation begins, during which time the inlet-valve I is closed and the valve V is opened, thereby permitting the air to be exhausted equally from the interior of the chamber 10, the rec eiver R, and the jars J. When a suitable vacuum has been thus obtained, the valve V is closed and the inlet I is opened, thereby permitting the air to return to the chamber 10, while excludingit from the interior of the chamber R, thus causing the atmospheric pressure to be fully exerted upon the flexible packing 15, and hence upon the pressers 10, thereby forcing the caps C down to the position shown in Fig. 4, and thus closing the joints between the caps and their jars. The valve V is then opened, so as to read mit the air into the interior of the receiver from the chamber 10 by way of the pipes S and O. The receiver is then opened and the handle 19 pushed back to the position shown in Fig. 1 to elevate the pressers 13 from the jars, which may then be removed and others substituted for the succeeding operation.

In order to take out any of the pressers 13, the bushings 12 are unscrewed from below, and both the bushings and pressers may thus be removed from the frame and be as readily replaced without removing or otherwise disturbing the presser-chamber.

An important advantage residing in this apparatus is that it may be employed to seal any number of jars from a single jar up to its full capacity Without any injury to the unused plungers or to the apparatus due to the absence of jars from beneath some of the plungers, as all the unused plungers when forced down will be supported by their flanges 14, resting upon the upper ends of the bushings l2.

Modifications in the frame-lowering device and in other details will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. One or more jars .may be operated upon as described. The jars may be inverted under some circumstances, in which case the pressers will bear upon the bottom ends of the jars, it being immaterial which end of the jar receives the pressure so long as the effect is to press each jar and cap together with su icient force to seal the jar before readmitting air to the c10- sure-joint. The valve V may be omitted if lthe size and length of the connecting-passage in the pipes O and S be made of proportions which prevent the air from reaching the jars until after the caps have been closed down.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a jar-sealing apparatus, the combination of a jar-chamber, a presser-chamber adjacent thereto, a movable wall interposed between the two chambers, and havinga presseropening therein, an independently-movable jar-presser substantially closing the opening, means for lowering the Wall and the jarpresser, means for exhausting air from both chambers, and means for readmitting air to the presser-chamber.

2. In a jar-sealing apparatus, the combination of a jar-chamber for receiving a series of jars, a presser-chamber adjacent thereto, a movable wall interposed between the two chambers, provided with a series of jarpressers located adjacent to the jars, a ilexible packing in the presser-chamber closing the joints of the jar-pressers, means for exhausting air from both chambers, and means for readmitting air first to the presser-chamber and then to the jar-chamber.

3. In a jar-sealing apparatus, the combination of a jar-chamber, a presser-chamber adjacent thereto, a jar-presser frame interposed between the two chambers and having presseropenings therein, independently-movable jarpressers substantially closing the openings in the frame, a device for lowering and elevating the frame and the pressers, means for exhausting air from both chambers, and means for readmitting air first to the presserchamber and then to the jar-chamber.

4. In a jar-sealing apparatus, the combination of a jarchamber, a presser-chamber adjacent thereto, a wall interposed between the two chambers and having openings therein, independentlymovable j ar-pressers substantially closing these openings in the frame, and removable bushings attached to the frame for guiding and supporting the jar-pressers.

5. In a jar-sealing apparatus, the combination of a jar-chamber, a receptacle for the jars, a presser-chamber adjacent to the jarchamber, a movable wall interposed between the two chambers and having independentlymovable jar-pressers in the wall coincident with the jars to be sealed, means for exhausting air from both chambers, and means for readmitting air to the presser-chamber.

Signed at Hartford, Connecticut, this 1st day of February, 1902.

VILLIAM A. LORENZ.

IOO 

